Anurofauna da Floresta Estacional Semidecidual da Estação Ecológica dos Caetetus, Sudeste do Brasil

Abstract

Semi-deciduous Forest is one of the most threatened and deforested vegetation types of Brazil due to its land conversion to agriculture in the beginning of the 20 th Century; its distribution is now reduced to less than 8% of its original extent. Studies about anuran taxocenosis associated to these forests are scarce, even when we consider the remaining areas of pristine forest. We present herein results from an amphibian survey at the Estação Ecológica dos Caetetus, a conservation unit with a singular preserved Semi-deciduous Forest from the Middle-West region of the State of São Paulo, located inside the priority areas for conservation on São Paulo State. We provided here data on species richness, composition, geographical distribution, and natural history notes for each taxa found in the area. We recorded 34 anuran species belonging to nine families, of which Hylidae and Leptodactylidae are the two most speciose families, with 14 and eight species respectively. The high species richness in the area, mainly in the family Hylidae, can be explained by both the high environmental heterogeneity of this remnant and its geographic location between Cerrado savannas and Atlantic rain forest areas. Its high species richness when compared with other localities of the same vegetation type, as well as the presence of forest dependent species in the families Centrolenidae, Hylodidae and Craugastoridae, indicate both the good conservation status and the regional importance of this forest remnant. Resumo: A Floresta Estacional Semidecidual é considerada uma das formações florestais mais ameaçadas e suprimidas pela expansão agrícola do início do século passado, com sua cobertura vegetal reduzida a menos de 8% da original. Estudos sobre taxocenoses de anfíbios anuros nessa formação florestal ainda são escassos, mesmo quando consideramos as poucas áreas de floresta primária que restaram. Apresentamos neste estudo os resultados de um levantamento de espécies de anfíbios anuros da Estação Ecológica dos Caetetus, uma unidade de conservação que abriga importante remanescente de Floresta Estacional Semidecidual na região Centro-oeste do estado de São Paulo, região considerada prioritária para conservação no estado. Foram registradas 34 espécies distribuídas em nove famílias, dentre as quais Hylidae e Leptodactylidae foram as que apresentaram as maiores riquezas, com 14 e oito espécies, respectivamente. A elevada riqueza de espécies da área, principalmente da família Hylidae, provavelmente está associada tanto à grande heterogeneidade ambiental dessa formação florestal como à sua localização em área de transição entre áreas de Cerrado e de Floresta Ombrófila. A alta riqueza de espécies, quando comparada à de outras áreas de mesma formação florestal, bem como a presença de representantes das famílias Centrolenidae, Craugastoridae e Hylodidae, que são dependentes de habitats florestais, atestam o bom estado de conservação e a importância regional desse remanescente florestal. Palavras-chave: anfíbios anuros, história natural,...

Implementing new northernmost records to modelling the distribution of Hypsiboas caingua (Anura: Hylidae) in South America

“…Even though the species may congregate for breeding throughout the year, with decrease in abundance on nights with temperatures below 15°C (Brassaloti et al, 2010), we recorded calling activities at even lower temperatures in Nova Alvorada do Sul (~8-15°C). All males were calling perched over shrubs and aquatic vegetation, in agreement with Jim (1980), but Melo et al, (2007) also found males calling on the floor.…”

“…The record of H. caingua in Nova Alvorada do Sul municipality, Brazil, expands its distribution to approximately 115 km (linear distance) northward (previously northernmost record was between Gália and Alvilândia municipalities, São Paulo -22°24'11" S; 49°42'05" W - Brassaloti et al, 2010) and reaches into the Cerrado phytogeographic domain of Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil (Figure 1).…”

“…Furthermore, this record extends the known distribution of H. caingua in 155 km (linear distance) northward from the nearest occurrence in Mato Grosso do Sul state, recorded in the municipality of Naviraí (Aoki et al, 2010). Despite the limited knowledge about the biology and ecology of H. caingua (e.g., Melo et al, 2007;Kolenc et al, 2008;Brassaloti et al, 2010), the species appears to be predominantly associated with the Atlantic Forest domain in the São Paulo state (Araújo et al, 2009;Condez et al, 2009;Rossa-Feres et al, 2011). However, the species had already been recorded in open area formations in São Paulo state, i.e.…”

“…Cerrado (Melo et al, 2007;Araujo and Almeida-Santos, 2011;Valdujo, 2011), but its record in Nova Alvorada do Sul and Bela Vista are the first reports of this species in the Cerrado of Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil. Besides, H. caingua also occurs in the mixed ombrophilous forest in the brazilian southern states, open natural fields in Argentina (provinces of Misiones and Corrientes) and in Garcia et al, 2007b;Melo et al, 2007;Condez et al, 2009;Toledo and Haddad, 2009;Aoki et al, 2010;Brassaloti et al, 2010;Araujo and Almeida-Santos, 2011;Maffei et al, 2011). Stars represent the news records in Mato Grosso do Sul state Brazil.…”

“…In addition, there are isolated populations in Brazil located in the states of São Paulo (Melo et al, 2007;Condez et al, 2009;Toledo and Haddad, 2009;Brassaloti et al, 2010;Araujo and Almeida-Santos, 2011;Maffei et al, 2011), Rio Grande do Sul (Garcia et al, 2007b;Lema and Martins, 2011) and Mato Grosso do Sul (municipalities of Tacuru and Naviraí: Aoki et al, 2010). Herein, we provide new records of H. caingua from Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil, representing the northernmost records of the species in South America.…”